Pamela Michelle Johnson

Thanksgiving is past but I didn't post anything since, so here's some more food for you. Only this food isn't quite the celebration of bounty and good health. It has a lot more to do with modified corn starch, hydrogenated oils, various chemical additives and of course, America's obsession with image and consumption.
Don't feel bad if these paintings make you hungry. The underlying message is equally clear and that conflict is, in a sense, the point.
pamelamichellejohnson.com





















"Cool Ranch" 20x20" 2009























"PB&J II" 44x58" 2009























"Waffles" 42x72" 2007


And for scale... what could be yummier than a six foot tall stack of pancakes drowning in syrup?

Sangram Majumdar

All drawing is essentially building images out shapes. Sangram Majumdar's work has taken this essential fact, broken it down and in the process rediscovered how to draw. I'm not sure exactly how to explain what I'm seeing. His paintings of scrap lumber are perfectly suited to, and perfectly illustrates his approach. But you have to look at all his work get an idea of the subtlety and deftness of his approach. Even his figurative paintings have an architectural quality, but they still breathe. And his drawings, worked and reworked, are simply exquisite.
www.sangrammajumdar.com



















"Eclipsed" 78x90" oil on linen 2009













"Presence" 60x108" oil on linen 2008





















"The Maze" 38x42 2009

















"Stacks 1" 28x38" 2008

















"Fold" 30x44" charcoal on paper 2007















"Montecastello Days" 59x40" (approx) 2008

Jean-Pierre Roy 2

I like science fiction. I like sci-fi movies and imagined apocalypses. So of course I like the art of Jean-Pierre Roy. (see my previous post from November 2008) But his work is not quite that simple. These images draw their inspiration from the romantic tradition when artists like Caspar David Friedrich would paint ruined abbeys in a wintery landscape but are informed by a more contemporary post-hollywood obsession with various takes on our own imminent demise.
Now through December 19th his paintings will be on display at the Torrance Art Museum in Torrance CA (in the L.A. area)
Go check out all the other ways he's ended the the world at his website www.jean-pierreroy.com












"An Appetite for Credible Causes" 52x96" 2009











"No Secrets Left From Us" 18x36" 2009







and you have to love this title:

"Landscape or Questioning the continued relevance of investigating the state of the pre-expansionate universe when it appears that time itself did not exist to measure the change" 72x228" 2009

Jason Limon

Jason Limon's work is unique. The overall tone of these pieces can range from cute and whimsical to quite dark (and occasionally just plain weird). He's evolved his own idiosyncratic visual language and with it he's telling some tall tales. His most recent obsession is a science fiction world where intelligent plant-forms are harvesting animals and... well you should go to his blog and let him explain it. Then visit his website to look at all the art (www.limon-art.com).





















"Dependence" 11x14"






















"Forewarning" 15x25"























"Awake" 8x10"





















"Alkaline Unit E" 16x18"

Owen McAuley 2

In my earlier post (August 25, 2009) I griped about his online images being too small. That problem so far has not been corrected (although I have it under good authority that this might change) but the appearance of new work mitigates my frustration. If you happen to be around Austin, Texas before December 12 you can see his these new pieces at dberman gallery. Otherwise you'll just have to settle for his website like me. www.owenmcauley.com.
Complaints aside, I love the atmospheric approach he takes to portraying the night. I'm also intrigued by how he takes that lonely hazy point of view and applies it to what others might see as a well lit room. He reminds us that the dark is always there, waiting to engulf everything at the flick of a switch.















"Aluminum sunset" 24x36" oil on linen 2009










"Gravity Loves You" 10x22" oil on linen 2009
















"Caress" 18x24" oil on linen 2009
















"Capuchin" 24x36" oil on linen 2009







"Plan C" 6x20" oil on linen 2009

Jane Andrews 2

The first time I posted her work (december 2008) I only included one image. What was I thinking? here's more.
I am still and always will be a fan of narrative art and these compelling, beguiling and sometimes disturbing stories are a must see. Go to her website: janeandrews.co.uk



















"Mitigation" 40x50"























"Romantic Suicide" 70x51"























"Monkey" 46x40"

Peter Archer 2

Peter Archer's beautiful and atmospheric realism appears to be gradually dissolving into a mist of storm and sea. The careful (and clearly time-consuming) rendering of some of his earlier work (see my previous post) has given way to a more impressionistic approach. But this is not simply a more immediate or quicker approach to image making. Rather it is a careful and systematic exploration of the image itself, trying to eke out it's surprises. He is not trying to define the scene's essence but explore its possibilities. One painting on his website is dated 2004-2008 which gives you an idea of the potential difficulty in "finishing" such a work. Fortunately for us he does.
see more at peterarcher.net

















"Naval Vessel: Sea Fog" 24x30" 2009

















"The Clemenceau, winter" 36x48" 2009

you can click on these to view larger.













"Swollen river (umber) 12x20" 2008













"Pipe entering the sea" 20x36" 2008
















"Northern upland, snow remnants" 35.5x51cm

S. P. Goodman

So this is kind of cool. Steven P. Goodman commented on my previous entry. I clicked on his link and was led to his website where I found these. I personally paint fairly large but I love small art. These deceptively simple, tiny and almost abstract landscapes somehow manage to convey a tremendous amount of feeling.
spgoodman.com






















"Driving into a storm, 7:34 pm" 8x8" oil on canvas





















"The long view" 7x7" oil on linen panel























"Snowy day 2-6-09" 7x7" oil on panel

Eric Aho

A lot of the artists I've posted are just people I've stumbled upon though visual art networking sites. Some of them are fairly successful. Others will be eventually I am sure.
Eric Aho is about as successful you get. But he's new to me, and I loved these images before I read his bio. There's a big long interview with him at paintingperceptions.com and you can see more work on his website (www.ericaho.com).
















"Blasted Tree" 50x70" 2008
















"Fire Three" 50x70" 2007















"Ice Jumble" 30x36" 2008

Michael Brown

I'm not sure what to say about Michael Brown's work except perhaps to point out that there's a blend of darkness and cuteness that other artists have explored. But while most of them take their imagery into the realm of kitschy irony, Michael Brown does something more. Somehow the overall effect of these paintings remains subtle and that's the wonder of it.
I came upon Michael Browns work through a fellow art blogger at paintblog.ca. You can see more of his work at his Gallery's website (sarahbaingallery.com) and there's an interview with more pictures on another blog commandax.blogspot.com.






















"Deuce"





















"Kind" 10x10" 2008


















"Octopusspuss"

I Had to include the following because I always find it fascinating to see samples of an artist's work that does not fit in with his or her established style. I presume it's an earlier piece, but what's compelling here is that, despite the fact that he apparently abandoned this approach, it remains a very successful, well executed painting. But don't look back Michael. I love what you're doing.






















"Caught in the Eye" 24x20"

Jochen Hein

The vast majority of his work consists of land and seascapes expressed in almost total abstraction as he apparently explores the random textural and tonal capabilities of his medium. But just to prove a point or perhaps to scratch a nagging itch he periodically produces works of large scale hyper-realism. Altogether an extraordinary artist. You can go to his website (www.jochenhein.de) where much of his work is fairly well organized or you can go to Artdoxa.com where more of his work is posted (about 500 images right now).
He has also generously posted hi-res images of his realism so PLEASE click on these to view them much much larger.






















"Kopp" 130x180cm Acrylic on Jute 2006
















"Kopp" detail


















"Gras" 155x120 Acrylic on Jute 1998


An example of his more frequent impressionist media and textural explorations


















"Grüne Welle - I" Acrylic on Jute 30x25cm 2008

And an example of a slightly different exploration in figurative expression





















"Lady Stardust" 100x130cm Acrylic on Jute 2008

Steve J. Yazzie (2)

The Last time I posted his work (November 26, 2008) , there just wasn't as much on his website (www.stevenyazzie.com). There's lot's more now. And it goes way beyond the coyote paintings I am showing here. There's birds and landscapes and people and pure abstractions and a lot of stuff somewhere in between. Here's an artist who can't seem to confine himself to any single approach to image making. That's both a curse and a blessing, but he has the talent to pull it off.
That said, I'm still partial to these coyotes. As the human presence in the west expands the versatile coyote has adapted to our manufactured environment like the squirrels and pigeons. But they do it with guile and remain largely hidden. I like to think they might even enjoy the luxurious homes of the well heeled when the owners are not about. The artist is also native American and his humorous use of the iconic and mythical coyote is, for lack of a better word, quite wry.






















"The Green Chair" oil on canvas 30x36" 2009


















"In a Dream" 36x30" oil on canvas 2008




















"Incidental Sunset" 66x60" oil on canvas 2009

Andrea Kowch

Here's another young artist who's apparently doing quite well for herself. She does illustration work and occasionally participates in the painting a day movement. But it's her big personal allegories of life in America's heartland where the vagaries of nature mirror and amplify the inner life of her characters, that deserve the most attention.
Some places to see her work:
www.andreakowchillustration.com
www.myartspace.com
www.kowchillustrations.blogspot.com
www.kowchpaintings.blogspot.com
click on these to view them larger!











"No Turning Back" 2008

















"Chosen" 2008


















"Apple of my eye"